Aaron Sanderford
LINCOLN — American corn, soybean, dairy and rice farmers who depend on trade with Mexico appear poised to get their wish from the Biden administration before Christmas, with the reopening of two train border crossings in Texas.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on Friday to let him know the crossings would be reopened right away. Pillen said he had spoken with the secretary days ago to make a case for restoring the flow of ag trade. He and ag-state congressional delegations, including Nebraska’s, have been pressing for a swift resumption of trade.
Pillen said he was grateful Mayorkas listened and followed up on Nebraska’s concerns before producers “suffered the consequences of suspending rail operations.” National ag organizations have said they risked losing millions of dollars in trade a day.
“As a country, we must work together to solve this crisis at the southern border, however we cannot solve it by suspending operations of essential transportation,” Pillen said in a statement.
High-stakes crossings
The two closed crossings at El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas, carried a combined $3 billion in cross-border trade by rail as recently as October, Reuters reported. As recently as 2021, Nebraska exported $9.2 billion in ag products. Mexico is the largest purchaser of Nebraska corn and soybeans. The crossings are two of the six rail systems connecting the U.S. and Mexico.
Nebraskans also have large stakes in Omaha-based Union Pacific and BNSF Railways, owned by Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, working under the Department of Homeland Security, had closed the rail crossings Dec. 18 until they could get more people to the region to process migrants trying to cross the border, including some riding atop cargo train cars.
Political issues
The Border Patrol stopped nearly 11,000 migrants along the southwest border Monday, Reuters reported, adding that Mexico recently reduced immigration enforcement for budget reasons and said the U.S. rail response might be related.
Increased crossings and Border Patrol stats are part of the 2024 presidential election race. A Mexican government source told Reuters that crossings are expected to level out in January, once spending returns to normal levels.
A Border Patrol spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Senate Republicans have been trying to insert changes in the administration’s approach to border security into a spending package that includes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., has said a deal is possible.
She and Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., have discussed the border situation as a national security issue. Ricketts and seven other GOP senators sent the Secretary a letter calling for reopening the trade routes. Fischer wrote him separately. Many met with him.
In a statement Friday, Ricketts blamed the Biden administration’s failure to address immigration enforcement more seriously for the crossing being shut down. He said the U.S. also needs more help from Mexico.
Local immigrant rights advocates have said people should focus more on the humanitarian crisis.
Mark McHargue, President of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said he welcomed the re-opening but said the closure should serve as a “wake-up call” to those in Congress about the need to address immigration reform in a way that secures the border and resolves issues “before costing our nation’s agricultural … economy millions of dollars.”
National wheat growers, including the U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers said they were pleased to see the Border Patrol reopen those routes, but they want the federal government to understand the potential costs of “even short disruptions.”
“We trust CBP will take the steps needed to avoid rail closures in the future, and we are grateful for their efforts to maintain border security and facilitate lawful trade,” the statement said.